Good morning, Chairman Issa,
Ranking Member Cummings and members of the committee. I thank you for
the opportunity to appear before the committee today.

I’m here to provide testimony that I hope
will assist in your inquiry into the investigation that has come to be
known as "Operation Fast and Furious."
I believe that your inquiry is essential. There have been grave mistakes made in
this case, and the committee, the American People, and the family of slain Border Patrol Agent
Brian Terry deserve answers.

Please allow me to give you a little
background information about myself. In 1987, I began my career with the
New
York City Police Department -- worked in Bronx County, often referred to as "The
Bronx," as a uniformed police officer, and then ultimately as a detective in the
Bronx Homicide Task Force. In my career, I estimate that I have responded to
approximately 600 homicide scenes. The vast majority were drug related,
committed by armed criminals, and these violent criminals were armed with
illegal firearms, and they had little regard for human life.

I retired early from the NYPD in
June of 2001 to take a position with the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms --
as we were then known -- and I did this because I had the honor of working with
ATF agents who were working and making great cases, working hand in hand with
incredible prosecutors from the Southern and Eastern Districts of
New York. In working with these offices, one thing was very clear:
Dedicated prosecutors worked hand in hand with dedicated ATF agents to make
great cases that truly impacted the safety of the public. There was an absolute
sense of teamwork and respect. Again, I emphasize the words teamwork and
respect.

Together with the prosecutors from
the U.S. Attorney’s Offices with whom I'd worked, we'd used,
confidential informants, proffers, cooperation agreements, "Waivers of Speedy
Presentment," investigative grand juries and grand jury subpoenas, and an abundance
of other investigative tools to make successful cases as part of a team.

I left the
New York Field Division
in March of 2007 to begin working in my current post of duty as a Supervisor of
the Phoenix I Field Office. Within weeks, I was surprised at what I had
observed. In my opinion, in my professional opinion, dozens of firearms traffickers
were given a pass by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Despite the existence in [sic] probable cause, in many cases there were no
indictments, no prosecutions, and criminals were allowed to walk free. In short,
their office policies, in my opinion, helped pave a dangerous path.

Fortunately, the same could not be
said of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office -- state prosecutors -- to which
we agents were forced to turn for prosecution of firearms cases. Victor Varela
and his associates, who trafficked .50 caliber rifles directly to Mexican Drug
Cartels, one of which was used to kill a Mexican military commander, were
successfully prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. And this was after
the case had been declined for federal prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Emory Hurley due to what he referred to as
corpus delecti issues. Mr. Varela, sadly, was released from
prison last July, because of lesser sentencing guidelines that apply in state
court. But the alternative -- no prosecution -- in my eyes was unacceptable.

Another case, which involved a
corrupt federal firearms licensee, who -- who was supplying several firearms
trafficking organizations, was declined by Mr. Hurley. This particular dealer
in his post-arrest statement admitted that "approximately 1000 of his
firearms" were trafficked to Mexico. Over one half-dozen of that dealer’s
firearms were located around the body of
Arturo Beltran-Leyva, the head of
Beltran-Leyva Cartel, after his body -- after he was killed in a gun battle with the Mexican Naval Infantry in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Due to the recalcitrance of the United
States Attorney’s Office, cases such as these were prevented -- presented for prosecution to
the Arizona Attorney General’s office, where the state laws carried
significantly lesser penalties
than they did under the federal statutes. And I believe that this situation, wherein
the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Phoenix
particularly, declined most of our firearm cases, was at least one factor which
led to the debacle that's now known as "Operation Fast and Furious."

And I’ll fast forward to "Operation Fast
and Furious" itself. ATF agents assigned to the Phoenix Field Division, with the
concurrence of their local chain of command, "walked" guns. ATF agents allowed
weapons to be provided to individuals who they knew would traffic them to
members of Mexican drug trafficking organizations. They did so by failing
to lawfully interdict the weapons, and they did so by encouraging federal
firearms licensees to continue selling weapons in instances where they knew that no
interdiction efforts would be planned.

When I -- When I voiced surprise and concern
with this tactic to ASAC [Assistant Special Agent in Charge] George Gillett and SAC
[Special Agent in Charge] William Newell, my concerns were
dismissed. SAC Newell referred to the case as "groundbreaking" and bragged that
"we’re the only people in the country doing this." My other ASAC, Jim Needles,
merely said "Pete, You know that if you or I were running the case, it wouldn’t
be getting run this way."

This operation, which in my opinion
endangered the American public, was orchestrated in conjunction with Assistant
U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley -- the same Assistant U.S. Attorney who prevented us
from using some of the common and accepted law enforcement techniques utilized
elsewhere in the United States. I've read documents that indicate that his
boss, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, also agreed with the direction of this case.

Allowing firearms to be trafficked
to criminals is a dangerous and deadly strategy. The thought that the techniques
used in the "Fast and Furious" investigation would result in "taking down a
cartel," given the toothless nature of the "straw purchasing law" and the lack of
a strong "firearms trafficking statute" is, in my opinion, delusional.

Based upon my conversations with
agents who assisted in this case, surveillance was often terminated on
individuals far from the border, which means that, while the case agent believed
that these
weapons were destined for Mexico, the possibility exists that they were
trafficked with cartel drugs to other points within the United States of
America.

As a career law -- law enforcement officer,
who has had to investigate the deaths of police officers, children, and others at
the hands of armed criminals, I was and continue to be horrified -- truly
horrified. I believe that these firearms will continue to turn up at crime
scenes on both sides of the border for years to come.

In closing, I want the members of
the committee and all Americans to know that this is not how ATF agents conduct
business. I’m very proud of some of the incredible work done by ATF agents
around the country every day. ATF agents have given their lives in the
performance of duty. On my last trip back to New York, sir, I had the
privilege of being present for a homicide trial. In that same courthouse, in the Southern
District of New York, there were three other separate homicide trials going on
all from three separate ATF-initiated investigations. That’s the type of work
ATF agents do everyday, and that’s what I’d like the committee to keep in mind
as well.

I thank you for your time. And again, my
condolences to the Terry family.